49ers comprehensive camp preview: Strong safety

Editor’s note: In preparation for the start of 49ers training camp in late July, we’ll go through each position and break down our projected depth chart before players compete for roles on the final 53-man roster and handicap each player’s chances at making the team. The first practice is scheduled for July 28.

Safety play is going to be crucial for the 49ers as they adjust to their new-look defense. Rookie coordinator Robert Saleh is implementing a 4-3 scheme influenced by Pete Carroll’s Seahawks and Gus Bradley’s Jaguars.

The defense requires a hard-hitting safety in the box capable of playing a linebacker-like role against the run while still being able to cover in space. Seattle’s Kam Chancellor, regarded as one of the most physically imposing strong safeties in the league, provides the ideal template for the position. Saleh worked with Chancellor during his time as a Seahawks assistant from 2011 to 2013, when they won the Super Bowl.

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With a depth chart topped off by a pair of highly drafted players, the 49ers seem well-equipped to handle the transition despite the demands of the new scheme.

Eric Reid

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Reid, a first-round pick in 2013, is the favorite to start. He was drafted out of LSU to play the free safety role left behind by Dashon Goldson on a defense that played in the Super Bowl the season prior.

Reid will move down into the box where he’ll be critical in shoring up the 49ers’ porous run defense. At 6-foot-1 and 213 pounds, Reid was big for a free safety. His replacement, Jimmie Ward (5-11, 193), spent his first three seasons playing cornerback.

“I love it. Being around the ball the ball more, I anticipate making more tackles, hopefully making more plays,” Reid said earlier this offseason. “I feel like I was made for this position, my body type, being a bigger safety. So I’m excited about this year.”

Reid is a near-lock to make the roster. He’s entering the final year of his contract and could earn a new deal to stay with San Francisco if he fits smoothly in the new scheme.